Gary Kendall

Biography

Gary Kendall, originally from Thunder Bay, Ontario, has been a working musician since the late 1960s. He is a multiple Maple Blues Award winner as bassist of the year and a Juno Award winner with the Downchild Blues Band. His distinguished musical career was so honoured by the Maple Blues Awards as early as 1993 and a Juno Award in 2014. Since 1999, Kendall has acted as the musical director of the Maple Blues awards program.

Kendall played with the Downchild Blues Band during the 1979-1983 period. With fellow Downchild alumnus Cash Wall, Kendall subsequently formed the Kendall Wall Band, which was well known in Toronto and area during the 1980s and early 1990s. As the house band at Toronto's Black Swan Tavern, the Kendall Wall Blues Band played with such blues legends as A.C. Reed, Pinetop Perkins, Eddy Clearwater, Tinsley Ellis, Little Willie Littlefield, Chubby Carrier, Bernard Allison, Eddie C. Campbell, Lefty Dizz, Eddie "Clean Head" Vinson, Eddie Shaw, Carey Bell and Fenton Robinson.

Kendall has also performed with such artists as Snooky Pryor, Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson, Big Jay McNeeley, Bob Margolin, Big Dave MacLean, Duke Robillard, Morgan Davis, Zora Young and Phil Guy. He has recorded with Downchild, The Gary Kendall Band, The Maple Blues Revue, Son Roberts, Ray Edge,David Vest, Chris Murphy, Little Bobby & The Jumpstarts, Peter Schmidt & Shane Scott, Brian Blain, Maria Aurigema.

From 1994-2010, Kendall was the talent buyer/publicist for the Silver Dollar Room, one of Toronto's best known blues bars, which has operated continuously, in various formats, since 1958.

Kendall rejoined Downchild in 1995 and has continued to play and record with the band since that time, in addition to contributing to the work of other musicians and leading his own band, The Gary Kendall Band. Kendall performs with noted bands as the Hogtown All Stars, The Mighty Duck Blues Band, The Swingin’ Blackjacks and The BG (Big Groove) Rhythm Section. His association as musical director of the Maple Blues Awards resulted in the formation of the Maple Blues Band, with which Kendall continues to be associated and to tour.

The documentary

In 2012, Kendall was involved in a live concert documentary that was produced outlining the 40-year career of the Downchild Blues Band. Through their musical legacy Downchild, had a huge impact on Canadian and American culture, influencing a new generation of young musicians including Colin James, Jeff Healey and many more to continue the blues tradition in Canada. Downchild was the inspiration for actor Dan Aykroyd’s Blues Brothers phenomenon. This will be the second documentary Kendall has been interviewed and involved with, in 2015 Kendall would release a documentary about the Kendall Wall Band, the band he co-created with the late Cash Wall. This documentary outlined the band arrived at a time when it was a crucial period for blues music in Canada, let alone in the city of Toronto, Ontario. They provided upcoming musicians the opportunity to perform with a working band then, when International and Canadian blues musicians came to town to play the Black Swan they had the Kendall Wall Band backing them up.

Awards and recognition

Blues With A Feeling Award

Maple Blues Award

Jazz Report Award

Keeping The Blues Alive Award

Thunder Blues Award

Juno Award

Hammer Blues Award

With The Downchild Blues Band

Solo

With the Gary Kendall Band

With the Maple Blues Revue

With the Kendall Wall Band

With Other Artists